No. 7 not lucky for Lakers in NBA draft lottery

Cleveland general manager David Griffin, left, and minority owner Jeff Cohen celebrate after the Cavaliers won the top pick in the the NBA draft lottery for the third time in four years. KATHY WILLENS, AP

ON THE BOARD

So the Lakers will pick No. 7 in the NBA draft. That means Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid will likely be off the board. Who will they be looking at? Here are a few guesses:

• Dante Exum, PG, Australian – It’s highly unlikely the 18-year-old will still be around for the Lakers, but he loves L.A. and is represented by Kobe Bryant's agent.

• Noah Vonleh, PF, Indiana – He hit on all the measurements at the combine in Chicago. Most notable: At 11.75 inches, his hands are the widest in combine history.

• Aaron Gordon, PF, Arizona – The Northern California native got the Wildcats to the Elite Eight and reportedly has added a more reliable jump shot.

• Marcus Smart, PG, Oklahoma State – Most famous for pushing a Texas Tech fan, Smart would have been a top pick had he come out for last year's draft.

• Doug McDermott, SF, Creighton – Who doesn't like shooting? Likely the first senior to be chosen in this draft, he’s still 13 years younger than Kobe.

BILL ORAM

In the NBA lottery, there are the Cavs and the have-nots.

Guess which category the Lakers fall into.

Cleveland jumped from the ninth-best odds to pick first in the June 26 draft, capitalizing on a 1.7 percent chance, bringing extra bad news for the hopeful Lakers, who dropped a spot and will pick seventh.

The Lakers (27-55) finished with the sixth-worst record in the league and had a 21.5 percent chance of moving into the top three and a 6.3 percent shot at No. 1.

Instead of imagining college superstars such as Duke’s Jabari Parker, center Joel Embiid or swingman Andrew Wiggins, both of Kansas, in those famed purple and gold threads, Lakers executives will now turn their attention to a less notable, but still intriguing, group of prospects.

The Lakers may be bummed after the lottery, but not to the extent of teams such as Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The two Eastern Conference organizations centered their rebuilding strategy on this summer’s vaunted draft, and finished with the two worst records in the NBA. However, Milwaukee will pick second behind Cleveland, while Philadelphia will choose third.

Cleveland was slotted ninth in the lottery, but shook up the whole order when that pick went to Charlotte (which made the playoffs but is owed a pick from Detroit). In past seasons, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sent his young son, Nick, to represent the team for good luck. It worked in 2011, when the team won the spot to draft All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, and again last spring, when the team jumped to the top and then befuddled the basketball world by selecting UNLV forward Anthony Bennett, who had a dud of a rookie season.

This year, new general manager David Griffin represented the Cavs on the stage as the results of the lottery were announced on ESPN, and found the same kind of luck.

James Worthy represented the Lakers. The Hall of Famer was the last player the Lakers selected at No. 1, and the organization hoped the TimeWarner Cable SportsNet analyst would bring some good fortune the Lakers way. He sat on stage with bobbleheads of Jerry Buss and Chick Hearn, and was taciturn as the Lakers were announced at No. 7.

Still, it will be the Lakers’ highest pick since 1982, when they chose Worthy over DePaul’s Terry Cummings and Georgia’s Dominique Wilkins. The Lakers have selected in the lottery only twice since the system was implemented in 1986, drafting Eddie Jones with the No. 10 pick in 1994 and Andrew Bynum (also 10th) in 2005.

At the NBA draft combine in Chicago last week, Lakers executives including General Manager Mitch Kupchak interviewed players who could land anywhere in the first round of the draft, including Australia’s Dante Exum, a point guard long linked to the Lakers, and Kentucky forward Julius Randle. However, after Tuesday, the Lakers may have to amend their targets.

At No. 7, players such as Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart, Arizona forward Aaron Gordon and Indiana forward Noah Vonleh are more likely to be available.

While Tuesday’s lottery brought disappointment for the Lakers – and every team other than the Cavaliers – it also brought clarity.

The Lakers have a number of moves to make this summer – chief among them hiring their third coach in three seasons – but Kupchak said they would be unsure of how to proceed until after the lottery. A top-three draft choice could have affected who the Lakers would hire as coach, and certainly who they would chase in free agency to fill out a decimated roster.

On July 1, the Lakers will enter free agency with only three players – Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre – under contract, with point guard Kendall Marshall (team option) and forward Ryan Kelly (qualifying offer) most likely to stay on.

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